Well, they are leaving not only the company, they are leaving games industry as a whole. I guess after 2 decades in the same business, they are burnt out and want to do different things. They have the money and time to do so, so why not. Best of luck to both of them though I guess they won't be reading this comment

This just isn't true anymore. There are horror stories at any company and at this point, EA is no worse than any other large corporation. After all those lawsuits all those years ago, EA is very conscientious about treating its employees well and making sure they're paid. Plus, the BioWare founders were head of the entire BioWare label; the only people they had to answer to were Frank Gibeau and Riccitiello himself so I can't imagine they had much to hamper their creative ambitions.

Heh, there's some truth to that I suppose. The perks for large corporations can be nice though, company gyms and stuff.

Insurance and retirement plans tend to be better as well.

OTOH there are a lot of potential downsides too. Large corporations tend to be very bureaucratic, and tend to have a larger percentage of people who are, shall we say, of questionable competence/usefulness (if you're not one of them, they will really piss you off). Employees are more likely to get pigeonholed (less opportunity for professional growth), and compensation/bonuses will likely have less correlation to performance. And these days the job security at a large corporation isn't really any better than at a small company or startup.

The years just pass like trains. I wave, but they don't slow down.-- Steven Wilson

Heh, there's some truth to that I suppose. The perks for large corporations can be nice though, company gyms and stuff.

Insurance and retirement plans tend to be better as well.

OTOH there are a lot of potential downsides too. Large corporations tend to be very bureaucratic, and tend to have a larger percentage of people who are, shall we say, of questionable competence/usefulness (if you're not one of them, they will really piss you off). Employees are more likely to get pigeonholed (less opportunity for professional growth), and compensation/bonuses will likely have less correlation to performance. And these days the job security at a large corporation isn't really any better than at a small company or startup.[/quote]I work for a decent sized company (35K people worldwide). One of the better aspects, IMHO, is exactly the opposite of what you posted: I can switch projects to something more interesting. I've been with the company for 7 years and have had four development projects in that time. While each one wasn't better than the previous, I was definitely ready for a change and the company accommodated.

If there is one thing a remote-controlled, silent and unseeable surveillance/killing machine needs, it’s more whimsy. -- Marcus

I work for a decent sized company (35K people worldwide). One of the better aspects, IMHO, is exactly the opposite of what you posted: I can switch projects to something more interesting. I've been with the company for 7 years and have had four development projects in that time. While each one wasn't better than the previous, I was definitely ready for a change and the company accommodated.

There are always exceptions. But in general, my experience has been that smaller companies tend provide more opportunities to "wear different hats" and learn new skills. The lines of command and boundaries between departments tend to be less clearly defined (which is both good and bad - sometimes it leads to chaos).

The years just pass like trains. I wave, but they don't slow down.-- Steven Wilson

They had already "left" the company as soon as it was sold to EA. They've just been waiting for a convenient and most profitable time to leave. The founders have said themselves that they could no longer care less about making video games..

Edit: Crap. I missed codedivine's post at the top that I basically reiterated..

My hypothesis is that the good doctors were all excited about the opportunities that being a publisher-owned studio would offer them (not to mention the fat check) but once they became administrative managers instead of creative development managers they discovered that wasn't so much fun. I don't think EA helped matters by giving them oversight of other EA-owned studios like Mythic but maybe Muzyka and Zeschuk wanted that responsibility. Who knows? However I distinctly remember thinking how BioWare was growing so fast and wondering how BioWare was going to maintain their painstakingly crafted culture of development with such a large influx of new people and studios spread across two cities in Canada and three cities in the U.S.A. I really thought that was a big challenge for them. In the end though I believe they decided that their roles had morphed into bureaucratic managers due to how large BioWare had become and they realized that really wasn't what they wanted to do with their lives. Greg Zeschuk's farewell message in particular sounded like he had a serious case of burnout.

In any event, I wonder if they had to do it all over again, would they make the same decisions? Would they have sold BioWare to Elevation Partners? IMHO once the good doctors sold to EP they lost the ability to control BioWare's destiny. In my view that was the critical decision point. If they knew then what they know now would they make that decision again?

BioWare will always have a special place in my heart. I thoroughly enjoyed playing games like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (the game that really pulled me into computer games), Jade Empire, Mass Effect, and Dragon Age: Origins. I really appreciate the fact that the doctors were always very supportive of PC gaming, even when their publishers weren't. Without their support Mass Effect and Jade Empire may not have gotten the eventual port to PC. So I tip my hat to Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk, express my thanks to them for bringing BioWare to life and creating games that focus on story, engendering such passion from their players, and wish them well for their future.